By Jen Curt, CTIPP's Director of Government Affairs
The Interagency Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care (TIC Task Force) was established as part of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act of 2018. Under the statute, the TIC Task Force is set to sunset no later than September 30, 2022.
Though established in 2018, the TIC Task Force was not provided funding until Fiscal Year 2022, limiting its capacity. CTIPP is fighting for robust funding and an extension of the sunset period. CTIPP also played a significant role in creating the TIC Task Force and remains a stakeholder in the process.
The TIC Task Force is chaired by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Membership, which includes the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, Justice, Education, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and Housing and Urban Development.
The TIC Task Force’s duties are to identify, evaluate, and make recommendations regarding: (1) best practices with respect to children and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; and (2) ways in which federal agencies can better coordinate to improve the federal response to families impacted by substance use disorders and other forms of trauma.
Report: Not later than three years after the date of the first meeting, the TIC Task Force shall submit to the general public, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General, other relevant cabinet Secretaries, the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and Congress, a final report containing all of the findings and recommendations required under this section, and shall make such report available online in an accessible format.
Findings will include a set of evidence-based, evidence-informed and promising practices with respect to (i) prevention strategies for individuals at risk of experiencing or being exposed to trauma, including trauma as a result of exposure to substance use; (ii) the identification of infants, children and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; (iii) the expeditious referral to and implementation of trauma-informed practices and supports that prevent and mitigate the effects of trauma, which may include whole-family and multi-generational approaches; and (iv) community based or multi-generational practices that support children and their families.
The report will also lay out a national strategy on how the TIC Task Force and member agencies will collaborate, prioritize options for, and implement a coordinated approach, which may include (i) data sharing; (ii) providing support to infants, children, and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; (iii) identifying options for coordinating existing grants that support infants, children, and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced, or are at risk of experiencing, exposure to substance use or other trauma, including trauma related to substance use; and (iv) other ways to improve coordination, planning, and communication within and across Federal agencies, offices, and programs, to better serve children and families impacted by substance use disorders.